I'm an engineer and a New York Times Bestselling Author of two books: $20 Per Gallon (2009) and Automate This (2012). I'm a cofounder at Aisle50, which was part of the Summer 2011 class at Y Combinator. Before Aisle50, Forbes was my full-time home for six years. During that time, I primarily covered the tech industry, writing cover stories on Andrew Mason and Paul Graham as well as a cover piece that prematurely proclaimed the economic recovery had arrived. I like to ski and I'm occasionally lucky enough to write about it.

The Top 10 Ski Resorts in the United States for 2013

Squaw and Alpine dropped two spots in our rankings because of the combined ranking of the Park City resorts, our first time doing that, and the improved score of Vail.

Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows didn’t do anything wrong last season, but they were punished by the snow spirits as the place was bereft of a real snow base through January. At that point, half of the high season was over.

We can’t reasonably hold such a thing against the resorts, although it might be wise on their part to file a complaint with the Department of Global Warming Problems. The snow patterns are already mercurial around Lake Tahoe—evinced by the record 700 inches that fell during the winter of 2010-2011 and the utter dud of last winter—the place doesn’t need something else adding more unpredictability.

That said, these two resorts, now linked by a joint ownership agreement and a speedy 10-minute shuttle system called the Squaw-Alpine Express, share lift tickets, season passes and the best terrain in the Sierras. The joining is an excellent deal for California skiers—something that was done to compete with Vail Resort’s Epic Pass, the best deal in skiing. (Vail owns three Tahoe-area resorts — Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood — that are included on the Epic Pass.)

The SquawAlpine megaplex has been aggressively updating its base areas, with plans to spend $50 million over 5 years adding restaurants, bars and all the fixins that go with big boy resorts. For people who find that their ski-charging caffeine is better served in coffee than in a can of Red Bull, Squaw has a treat for you this winter: the first ever ski-in, ski-out Starbucks. It will be located at mid mountain.

On to the important stuff, skiing: As always, if you hit Squaw/Alpine with the right conditions, there are few places with comparable terrain. There’s a reason that many of the world’s best extreme skiers are bred on these lifts. Squaw sports one of the few true mountain trams in the United States (Jackson Hole, Snowbird, Big Sky, Jay Peak) and the only U.S. funitel, a high speed gondola that runs on two wires, which allows it to continue operations in rougher weather and when wind events kick up, as they often do in the Sierra. For this year, Squaw has installed a new high-speed six-pack lift (they’ll fill all of those seats on Saturdays) that will get people to Shirley Lake and Granite Chief’s chutes and trees all the quicker.

Because we find it bizarre and fun every time we mention it: Squaw Valley hosted the 1960 Winter Olympics.

Spots No. 7 – No. 10

Silverton Mountain (PAF: NA) - Silverton’s PAF score is, in fact, off of the charts. We covered it in the magazine here. It’s a mountain only fit for expert skiers and people who are comfortable with the spartan amenities of an outhouse and a yurt with a keg on wheels. We’re good with that. Very good. Silverton isn’t a destination resort, which is why its PAF score doesn’t calculate, but it’s most certainly a destination.

Silverton: holy ground

Brighton/Solitude(PAF: 83) - These side-by-side Utah mountains are the light versions of Alta-Snowbird. They’re one ridge north, in Big Cottonwood Canyon rather than Little Cottonwood Canyon, but they get the same copious snow that annually buries Alta and Snowbird. Solitude and Brighton aren’t as vertical, but there are lots of spots, especially at Solitude, worth an expert’s time. And the best part about these two mountains: they’re remarkably uncrowded.

Solitude has world-class trees and snow.

Big Sky (PAF: 81) - Montana skiing doesn’t get the love it deserves. We’re going to change that soon. Big Sky has some great terrain, but it loses points on accessibility (you have to fly to Bozeman) and the fact that the place is always cold and has a weaker base village.

Big Sky delivers on its moniker.

Wolf Creek (PAF: 80) - This Southwest Colorado resort, if it had more vertical and steeps, would be one of the legendary ski destinations in the world. It’s still a great spot as it is and it receives the best snow in all of Colorado by a big margin. The powder can last because this place is hard to reach. At the base, don’t miss the green chili, made with local green chiles.

Wolf Creek: Snow to the roof… and green chiles.

A-Basin (PAF: 80) - A poor man’s Alta (except snowboarders are allowed here), parking lot barbecues serve up more collective protein here than do the restaurants on the mountain. A-Basin is the spot where gritty central Colorado skiers gather to ski legitimate steeps and epic lines on a powder day.

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How have you left out the fact that Northstar is on the Epic pass for Tahoe. with those three mountains offering such differentiated skiing/riding (kirk for steeps, Heavenly and NStar for a huge family experience, all getting different types/amounts of snow) its really the best deal in skiing…is it just because of the proximity?

Northstar is great if you’re a boarder that likes the park, but skiers go to Squaw and Alpine. Heavenly is OK if you know in advance which part of the mountain will be best that day. (Please don’t tell anyone about Kirkwood!)

Chris: and the reason you skipped Copper is???? The resort is about 1500 feet higher (9600 at the base) than Vail and CONSISTENTLY gets better snow than Vail. There is a reason the U.S. Ski Team has a permanent deal to train at Copper every year: it’s better. And (can you tell I’m a local?) the Forest Service permit at Copper was expanded a few years ago to equal or surpass the acreage of Vail. It’s not all open, but they have the expansion rights.

Nice article, but next time check with a local. http://rileyjamesbooks.com/

Vail actually gets 30% more snow than does Copper over a regular season – 366 inches to 282 inches. That’s a big difference, so I’m not sure how you say Copper consistently better snow than Vail; it doesn’t. Every resort on Copper’s side of the pass, in fact, gets less snow that Vail. That’s a fact.

As for the U.S. Ski Team: they prefer LESS snowfall where they practice, so their partnership with Copper is not indicative of conditions whatsoever. The Ski Team prefers to ski on what is basically ice. Too much snow screws up their practice routine. At the U.S. Ski Team’s permanent home, in Park City, Utah, the team skis on one of the lowest ski runs in town. Being higher up on the mountain means more snow and less control over the surface, which they want to keep as hard (icy) as possible.

Only thing you missed about Jackson Hole.. the best restaurant is now Teton Thai! At the village. If you haven’t tried it, be warned. No other Thai food in the whole country measures up! It will ruin what you will settle for!

Of all “Top Ski Resorts” lists, I think this is the only one I’ve ever found that sticks to what matters — the skiing. What does it matter if the bars are swanky, the hotel rooms are plush, and the village is well designed if the mountain sucks? I might disagree at what order you put these resorts, but all these resorts belong for the skiing alone.

Right. Wolf Creek is definitely a place for powder and has that “awesome” factor…anyone who’s skied Alberta Peak can testify. South Fork may not have the swank, but it does have quirk. Good to see it on the list.

I agree with Abe. Chris, you don’t have to put Aspen first, even though for me it is the best (I’ve skied at all of the resorts on your list, except for a few between 7-10). Vail is in my opinion the worst major resort I’ve ever skied at. The town is so fake and “resorty” and lacks any authenticity or charm. And the mountain is big, but lacks great terrain. People talk up the bowls but they are so tame. No steepness at all, it doesn’t come close to comparing to highlands bowl. I’ve also skied at all the park city area resorts and while the town of park city is not bad (Aspen is better but at least its better/more real than vail), the mountains were very disappointing to me. Very few good cruiser runs, poor lift system set up and they’re really meant for the casual skier. When people write articles on the best ski resorts, they should distinguish whether its aimed at the expert skier or the novice family skier. The only spin going on is from you!

Of course everyone will be bummed not to see their favorite (or local) ski area in your list, but I’m genuinely surprised that Taos Ski Valley didn’t make the cut. As part of group in search of awesomeness, we had the choice of ski areas in Colorado throughout college, and purchased both annual Vail passes and Summit passes, but we would always, always favor Taos over all else. Period. Even on our student budgets we would choose to pay full ticket price, sleep in our cars, and eat burritos in Taos vs. use our Vail passes and stay in the luxury of Mommy and Daddy’s mountainside mansions in Vail. There are no mountainside mansion in Taos….another point of awesomeness.